Plague's Procrustean Bed: Problems in Interdisciplinary Studies of Pre-Modern Disease

This is the abstract and bibliography for a paper presented at the Paleopathology Association meeting in Denver, 16-18 March 2026. It summarizes on-going research on defining the chronological parameters of the Second Plague Pandemic, of which the Black Death should be understood as just one of many waves. The work draws on research in bioarchaeology, paleogenetics, and the intellectual history of medicine. The published abstracts for the 2026 PPA meeting can be found at the Association's website: https://www.paleopathologyassociation.org/.